Suddenly, I Have More Relatives

Last last week, I attended the funeral of my grandfather’s brother in the neighboring town. As the usual Filipino culture, the funeral of my grandfather is almost devoid of sadness and served as a big family reunion. There is a mini casino where my cousins played and bet on cards. Tables were set-up for visitors that tell stories about the dead and other things. The coffee and biscuits are being passed around by the hosts to help the visitors to stay awake.

Present in the funeral are the regulars like my grandparents, my aunts, uncles, and cousins. What surprised me is when I was introduced to my other relatives from Bicol. I couldn’t believe that I have many lolo and lola (grandfather and grandmother) whom I just met there for the first time. And that does not include all of my third to fourth degree uncles, aunts, and cousins that accompanied the lolos and lolas.

The members of our clan is too numerous! Christmas can’t bring the whole clan together but when an elder member of the family dies, all of my relatives from around the country will come to see the dead person one last time.

On that day, I discovered that I have a meteorologist cousin who is now working in PAGASA. She graduated in Ateneo de Manila through a scholarship. I did not know that while I am studying in the University of the Philippines, I have a relative that is also studying in a university that is just a jeepney ride away.

Add my Bicolano relatives to the ones I met in Davao and I say that our clan is quite widespread. Suddenly, my relatives become plenty. As many as the stars of the Milky Way.


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14 comments:

  1. Wow! Suddenly you discovered you have more relatives? Haha! So is that a good or bad thing? : )

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  2. That is a good thing Foong. :-)

    Now I have a place to sleep (for free) when I visit Bicol and Davao.

    Thanks for dropping by.

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  3. its a good thing ish you got to know your relatives..
    well, its a blessing..:-)
    like what I've experience in facebook.com i got a lot of relatives there..hehehe

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  4. same her.. but not in the funeral ... i was able to meet a lot of my relatives when we have family gatherings..
    some of them are familiar to me while most are strangers...
    have a great day ISh!
    Oh foong nice to see you here!

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  5. @Megumi

    Yeah, I read in your facebook that some of relatives just met you online. That is great. :-) Hope that I met some of them through FB.

    @Blue:

    Good for you that you meet them in family gathering and during funerals. Knowing I have more relatives makes me want to visit Bicol.

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  6. Something like here too... When an elderly member of the family dies, all the relatives will flock home...even though they hardly ever visited when he/she is still alive.
    My heartfelt condolence on your loss...

    P.S. Thanks for dropping by my blog. Always welcome to visit, I've linked you in my blogroll.

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  7. Good to see long lost relatives eh? But not the best occasion for a reunion, I must say...

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  8. @Suituapui:

    Yeah, Its kind of weird right? When the person is alive they are not visited. But when they are dead people will do everything to visit them. It is a loss that they can's share good moments with the deceased while he/she is alive.

    Thanks for the condolence and the link. Linked you too.

    @iamthewitch:

    You are right. It is not the best occassion to met them. But then again, it is still good because I met them all.

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  9. hi Ish, you can now submit your song entries here
    http://blogidol09.blogspot.com/2010/04/song-categories.html
    have a great day and happy blogging

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a big family you have! I'd like to extend my condolences to your family.

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  11. Thanks Anney. Hope that he is with God.

    Thanks for dropping by.

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  12. Funerals, not weddings or Christmas get-togethers, provide the best opportunity for getting in touch with long-lost relatives. This phenomenon is more pronounced in the provinces than in the urban areas.

    Strange, but the number of relatives you have is directly proportional to your stature. As the saying goes: the more successful you are, the more relatives you have.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anon

    I agree with you anonymous. Whenever a person dies, I think that his relatives will find a way to visit him just to pay their last respect.

    This is why I met many of my relatives during the funeral of one of my Grandpa.

    ReplyDelete

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